Names and Shops on Etsy

When you signed into Etsy this morning, you probably saw a notice about changes to how we represent shop owners throughout the site. In this post, I’ll tell you a bit about why we’re making these changes.

On Etsy, a person, their account, and their shop have always been deeply connected. Almost everywhere on the site, the single username/shop name represents a person and a shop and cannot be changed. As Etsy grows and evolves, this makes less sense. There are also several places on the site where, if you click on a username (which is also a shop name), you don’t know where you are going. Will you find more information about the person (shop owner) or the shop? The changes we are announcing today aim to make this more clear.

Starting October 18, 2011, shop owners will have two ways to represent themselves across the site. Instead of being just a username/shop name, shop owners will now be displayed as a person who owns a shop. Shop owners can enter their full name, if they choose to, which will be displayed with their shop name and link when they participate in Forums, Teams and other areas of the site. This will allow shop owners to promote their shops while they participate across Etsy.

As you can see in the above example, shop owners will be represented as a person who owns a shop. If you want to find out more about the person, you can click on their name and go to their personal profile. If you’re interested in their shop, you can click on the shop name. Displaying these two pieces of info separately not only allows easier navigation, but also gives shop owners more space to represent themselves.

As part of these changes, we will also start to show the full names of members who don’t own shops, so everyone is represented consistently across the site. Showing your full name is always optional. You don’t need to enter a full name and you can always remove your name from your profile completely. If you choose not to provide a full name, we will show your username to represent you as a person.

In addition, this change will allow for one of our biggest shop owner requests: changing your shop name! For those of you who would like to, starting on October 18 you’ll be able to sign in to your shop settings and request a new name. You won’t be able to pick from any existing shop names, but you’re welcome to create a unique one. Your shop will have a new URL, but the old shop URLs will redirect, so links won’t be broken.

Changing your shop name is a big decision, so we wanted to give you a week to think about it. Shop names are the biggest identifier of your shop’s brand across Etsy. Whether they describe what you sell or serve as a creative name that captures your shop’s image, shop names are displayed with you across the site, and they can define your shop’s success!

Likewise, how you represent and name yourself as a shop owner is important as well. In our new way of displaying your name with your shop name, this name will be an important factor. We invite you to use your full name, your first name, or multiple names if you so choose. For example, if I own a shop with my sister, using “Natalie and Rebecca Schwartz” would be a fine way to represent ourselves as shop owners and add credibility to our shop. Remember, since we’ll display your shop name after your full name, there is no need to use your full name to represent your shop; your shop name and link to your shop will always be displayed with your full name. This will highlight shop owners across the site and provide a clear path to a person’s shop. To further highlight a member’s shop, we will update the listing page so the shop is called out at the top of the sidebar, with information about the shop owner displayed below.

These changes will be reflected across the site. You can see more examples of how your name and shop name will be displayed in these FAQs. We will make these changes in Treasury, Forums, and Team discussions starting October 18 and going forward. However, it’s important to note that your past participation (Forum and Team discussion, etc.) will remain attached to your username and will not display your full name and shop name.

We hope you’ll take some time to think about which name you choose to brand your shop and establish credibility as a shop owner and member on Etsy. We understand these are important choices, which is why we’re emailing everyone to let them know, as well as reminding you of these changes upon signing into Etsy this week. If you decide to stick with your username, simply leave your full name blank or remove it.